cmsix John and Argent by cmsix Chapter 83 I had been guessing about that but some things concerning my situation had become familiar to me. Argent had always been especially happy when something unexpected happened. Unexpected by me anyway, I'm pretty sure that they had always been aware of what others would do ahead of time. I still didn't have any clue about their experiment though and was begining to think I never would. What's more, I didn't really care any more. I left my office and went back to the bedroom, changing clothes along with my mates. I could see that Miekadakta and Sateala were surprised to be putting on chain mail but they were getting plenty of help. Deimeta had hers on already and was busily pulling up her pants right now. I could tell that she was excited. When we were all dressed we went back to the kitchen to wait on the others. Deimeta asked for her tiny mug of coffee and as always, it made me smile. I'd already had enough coffee for a while so I sat down and tried to wait patiently. I did a better job of it than Deimeta, who couldn't seem to sit still. I could understand and was anxious to get on with it myself. Finally there was a crowd gathered that was ready to go. We headed for the horse cave and when we got there Danlo and his helpers made sure that Deimeta and Darta were ready to go first. Deimeta got aboard her sleigh and had Darta pull it outside where she stopped and invited Geera aboard for the first ride. While Deimeta and Darta took Geera off up the canyon, Danlo hitched Big Mother to her sleigh and had her pull it outside where he gathered his first load. Merita, Maia, Roweea, Failiela and Ameliea decided against riding for now and all went to pay their baby mammoths some attention. When Danlo left with his group they all took their babies out for a little interaction. Later Deimeta had come back to pick up another rider. When she left again, all the others that had a mammoth, lined up to follow her. It was funny to see Deimeta and Darta leading their own parade up and down the canyon and it was just too bad that we didn't have a marching band to accompany them. It would be good practice for them and I decided to ask Ralph if he had any objections to furnishing the sleigh/buckboard combinations for all the little ones. Since I didn't have any desire for a mammoth sleigh ride and wasn't really needed to help I walked back up to my cave and went into my office. "You have quite a show going on outside John," Ralph said as I entered. "Yes and I came to ask if you, Frank and Phil would help me add to it." "In what way?" he asked. "I seem to be short of the small buckboards for the little mammoths to pull. Can you make some more of them?" "Of course we can and that is a good idea. Shall we make them with wheels and runners like Deimeta's?" he asked. "I think that would be best and you might want to make some of them larger, for the older and bigger youngsters." "I think we will make them specifically for each mammoth. If they grow too big for theirs later we can just replace it," he said. "I'm sure that you know more about that than I do so I'll just leave it up to you." "Good, we can make them right now," he said and it almost seemed as if he was excited about it but I knew that couldn't be right. "Maybe you should wait until everyone has left for the day. It might scare them if buckboards start appearing while they are there." "You're right, I should have thought of that but I wanted to see them all lined up with their sleighs behind them. It can wait for another day though. You will try to get them to give us a show after we make them won't you?" he asked. "I'll be glad to and I'm sure that they will too," I told him but I wondered why he seemed anxious to see it and he must have noticed something about the way I was looking. "You know John, Frank, Phil and I have a staggering amount of data and we can access it as if we had gathered it ourselves. It isn't like with live species that tell each other what they have seen or experienced. When we transfer the data of one of our observations it is similar to what you know as copying a computer file from one computer to another and in fact data we receive from others of our kind should be no different than data we collect ourselves. We do know the difference though and it is always better for us to actually observe something for ourselves." he explained. "It seems like you're trying to tell me that you have emotions and can feel pride of accomplishment or anger and disappointment." "We do have a rudimentary form of emotions. It wasn't in our original design but we have been able to make modifications that support such things. They are not as powerful as your emotions and they are also not as distracting. We are able to determine whether we like to do something or not though and we are capable of enjoying ourselves and the things that we do," he said. "I had no idea that was even possible and I'm glad you told me," "Don't worry, it's not as if you are going to hurt our feelings or something like that. You already treat us with more respect than we have ever received and I feel confident that Frank and Phil would agree that we all like you and enjoy our mission here much more than we thought we would at first," he said. "I'm glad of that even though I still don't have any idea what your mission here was in the first place." "Well our mission and Argent's mission are not the same but they are similar and they don't conflict. I think that for now we should leave it at that," he said. This was getting confusing for me and I decided to leave, hopefully before he noticed my bewilderment. I went back out into the cave and got a cup of coffee. It was deserted now with most everyone that was usually around being gone for the mammoth rides. I did have some company though. Prince, King and Rover came over to get their heads scratched when I sat down. All the younger ones were with them also. I didn't even know if the young ones had been named yet. I could tell that they were growing. Prince, King and Rover were still growing too. I'm sure that they were already bigger than any other wolves in this time and no doubt their constant and plentiful food supply was responsible for that. They hadn't missed a meal since I first caught them and it showed. They were already easily a third larger than any "German Sheppard" I'd ever seen on my old home planet and they would probably get even bigger. I wondered what it would be like when one of the young females came into heat next spring. I was afraid that we would be in for trouble if the mature males began fighting among themselves for a receptive female. There was nothing to do about that but wait. If we were lucky the females wouldn't be old enough for another year. I didn't think it would be that long though since their pace to maturity was probably affected by the quality and quantity of their diet. For once I was happy to have nothing more than this to worry about. Frank, Phil and Ralph had pretty much taken my worries about Argent off my mind. Catching and disposing of those that had plotted to kill me had relieved me of another sore point. Things were looking good all around for a change and I liked it. I still wanted to track down and deal with the ones that had attacked the camp near me but that was put off until spring. In fact there wasn't much on my plate right now. I supposed getting the sawmill into operation was my next big trick. I wouldn't start that today though and so I just drank coffee and gathered wool until the mammoth riders came back. My mates and mostly everyone else went to change out of their outdoor clothes. Deimeta was the first one back and she came for her spot on my lap. "Daddy I had such a good time giving everyone a ride in my sleigh," she said. "What about Darta, did she enjoy the attention?" "She is just a little stinker. After a trip or two, she realized that everyone was watching her and she almost seemed to be prancing. It was so funny watching her trying to show off," Deimeta said. "Are you sure that you weren't showing off a little yourself?" "Of course I was Daddy, that's what made it so much fun," she said. "Well, doesn't that mean you're a little stinker yourself?" "Probably, but let's keep it between us," she whispered and then giggled. "I have a surprise for you tomorrow." "What kind of a surprise?" she asked. "If I tell... "I know; if you tell me it won't be a surprise. That must be your favorite saying," she said. "It's the truth though." "I know but let's let it be a surprise for everyone else this time," she said. "That might be ok. What would you think about having a buckboard for all the young mammoths?" "That would be so much fun. I could teach everyone how to make their mammoth behave and pull. Just think about it, poor little Deimeta would be the teacher for a change," she said smiling her widest. "Poor little Deimeta indeed. I'm glad I don't have a mammoth so I won't have to be one of your students. I'll just stay here and tickle the teacher when she comes back," I told her and then tickled her ribs until she was gasping for breath. She squirmed and giggled and then laughed out loud. When I quit most of my mates were back and they were all watching us and laughing themselves. When the tickling and the giggling were over they set to work rattling the pots and pans and things started smelling really good in only a few minutes. Georgo, Dotallto and then my other main leaders came back in to sit at the table. Most of them were still talking about the mammoths and their ride. "I can still remember how surprised I was the first time you took me for a ride in your first wagon John but it seems so commonplace now. I can hardly believe that I have now ridden in a wagon pulled by a mammoth," Georgo said. "I was thinking of that myself. It is hard to believe that they would do that for us. It was a bigger surprise that the small one was so careful to do exactly what Deimeta told her to do. I don't even know how Deimeta was able to make it understand what she was telling it," Raalto said. "Tell him how you did it Deimeta." "I started by walking with Darta beside me. When I would turn one way I would tell her which way it was and I did the same with turning the other way and with stopping. Finally I knew that I would also have to tell her what it meant when we started moving. When I hitched her to the sleigh she seemed to know what I wanted her to do and when I told her which way to turn she did it. I was surprised myself but I tried not to show it," she said, smiling. "Well you did a wonderful job. I worried for days how to let big mother know what I wanted her to do but after I tried your method she had no trouble understanding. It's almost as if they know what we are saying," Danlo said. "They do know what we are saying now but it's hard for me to believe that they are so willing to do it," Deimeta told him. Food started coming then and the mammoth talks were over. I almost felt guilty for a moment when I realized we were having mammoth meat steaks for lunch. Deimeta didn't feel a bit guilty though. "The mammoths are a lot of fun and I know that it will be a big help to have them pull us but they taste awfully good too," she said and had everyone laughing again. After lunch was over I decided to go and take a look at the sawmill after all. Daaggo was still at the table and Sarboto was with him. They had become close friends since Sarboto had come from Grotondo's camp to live in ours. I was glad to see that my match making seemed to be working out and even though Sarboto wasn't living in Daaggo's quarters yet I didn't doubt that he soon would be. This reminded me that Brundolo was still with us. He hadn't mentioned it to me but he probably was getting anxious to get back to his own camp and the young woman that was waiting there to be his mate. "Daaggo, would you and Sarboto mind helping me this afternoon?" "No, what are you going to be doing?" he asked. "I'll show you but I need to go to my office for a while first. I'll come to your quarters a little later when I'm ready." "We will be there waiting," he said. I needed to talk to Ralph and see if I could get a weather report. He greeted me when I entered and after telling him what I had in mind he told me we could leave as late as three days from now and should still have plenty of time to be back without any danger of getting caught in a big snowstorm. I thanked him and went to get Daaggo and Sarboto. I took them across the river, which was frozen completely by now. We didn't have too much trouble digging our way through the drifted snow to get inside the cave where the sawmill had been put. When they first saw all the equipment they didn't know what to think of it. "This is a sawmill. With it we can easily cut the logs into more usable boards." "What are boards?" Daaggo asked. "They are sections of the logs that are cut off lengthwise. If it is done right they come out flat on both sides and in different thicknesses and widths. I'm showing you two this because I want you to take over the sawmill and start cutting the logs." "I don't know anything about it and I don't think Sarboto does either," Daaggo said. "I know that you don't yet. No one knows anything about it but me, and of course Phil, Ralph and Frank. If you will agree to do it for me I will take you to Ralph, in my office, and let him begin teaching you what to do." "I'm sure that we will be glad to try anything you would like for us to do," Daaggo said and Sarboto agreed. "Look around for a few minutes then and get slightly familiar with what you see. Don't worry about what any of it might be for yet. Ralph will tell you all about it. Just try to keep in mind what things look like." They agreed and then walked around looking at everything. It was all completely foreign to them but I was betting that it wouldn't be for long. After about thirty minutes I took them back to my office and introduced them to Ralph. He said that he would go over some basics with them today and that for tomorrow he would have a display ready in the sawmill so that he could explain things to them while they were in there and could see what he was talking about. It sounded like a great plan to me so I left it with them and went to the practice cave for a while. I spent a couple of hours with my bow. I guess I couldn't understand why almost all of my mates were better with theirs than I was with mine. Hell, they had never even thought about a bow until I came here and got them some but it didn't take them very long to get better with it than I was. I guess it was because they liked them more than I did. They practiced with their rifles, even more so now that they had M1s like mine, but they all still liked using a bow better. They realized its limitations but I guess they felt more comfortable with it because they had no trouble understanding how it worked. Nothing about it seemed to be magic like the rifles and the Glocks did. They understood that muscle power was the prime mover behind the arrows. I'd told them about gunpowder, I'd even opened a cartridge and showed them. It was still something like magic to them though and they could see how the bow propelled the arrows without any explanations. So I practiced with my bow, not because I needed it but because I needed to be good with it, for pride's sake. That's right, it hurt my pride when my mates showed me up. I also thought it was unfair of me somehow to let them work harder at something than I was. A man thing I guess. Sateala came to get me when it was time for supper. Following her out of the practice cave reminded me of something else that was a man thing; fucking. Tonight I was going to be letting Miekadakta and Sateala earn their new clothes. I sincerely hoped that they would like it as much as I knew I was going to. Deimeta was already at the table when I got there but she got up, waited for me to sit, and then got into my lap. "I've been waiting for you Daddy. The chair is too hard for my little bottom and besides it isn't high enough to let me reach my plate," she said, teasing me. "You don't need to reach your plate Deimeta, you know that I love to feed you." "That works out well then because I love to eat," she said. "We have it made. We love to eat and all your mommies love to cook." "That's not all you and my mommies love to do, so I'm going to stay with Failiela again tonight, even though she wanted me to stay in my bed and watch so I could tell her all about it later," Deimeta told me, speaking softly so no one else could hear. "She wanted you to tell her about it?" "Yes, I told her if she really wanted to know about it she could come stay with me and watch it herself but she got red in the face and said she was too shy," Deimeta said. "It won't be long before she finds out all about it." "I know that too and I tease her about it some. You should have seen her blush when I said I would be sure to watch after she became your mate, so that I could tell Malooto about it. I thought she would faint at first," she said, laughing. I laughed too; I couldn't help it. Deimeta was turning into a terrible little teaser but it was so funny. "You should be ashamed of yourself for doing that to her," I said, trying to sound stern. "I am Daddy, I'm very ashamed for doing it. I don't think I'm going to stop though," she said. Hell, I laughed louder this time and when I looked around at the others I could tell they wondered what we were laughing about. I wasn't going to tell them but I did try to get Deimeta to stop talking about it. We had mammoth again for supper. It was delicious and was quickly becoming my favorite meat. I wanted to stuff myself but I didn't. I wasn't going to get so full that it made me lethargic since there would be women expecting action out of me a little bit later. I intended to make sure that I didn't disappoint any of them. Chapter 84 Back to story Index Back to cmsix Index Blog eMail cmsix I claim copyright on everything from here on in, inclusive - cmsix